The following resources, developed by the National Mentoring Center over several projects, can help youth mentoring programs in both school and community settings plan for a sustainable future. These resources cover many aspects of sustainability, such as fundraising, marketing and branding, and partnership development.

NMC Resources

Sustainability Planning and Resource Development for Youth Mentoring Programs
One of the major challenges facing mentoring programs of all types is the search for funding and resources that can sustain the program over time. This guidebook, revised in 2007, provides detailed advice for creating a customized sustainability plan. Specific chapters cover common funding streams, such as government grants, foundations, and individual giving campaigns. The appendix also features essays from some of the country's leading nonprofit consultants on topics such as the role of the board in fundraising, effective advocacy, and ethical issues in raising funds for youth-serving programs.

Marketing Toolkit for Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools Mentoring Programs
One of the key aspects of running a successful youth mentoring program is effective marketing. This toolkit is designed to give your program ready-to-use files that you can customize to create quality marketing materials, such as brochures, newsletters, and posters. Word and Quark XPress versions of each file are provided, along with numerous tips for creating effective marketing campaigns.

Marketing for the Recruitment of Mentors
This comprehensive guide connects the principles of marketing with the recruitment of volunteer mentors. Designed as a workbook, it offers numerous worksheets and tools to help your program plan for and implement a marketing plan. It covers everything from creating effective media messages to building a strong program "brand" in the community.

Building a Sustainable Mentoring Program: A Framework for Resource Development Planning
This planning guide, developed specifically for school-based mentoring programs, features strategies for securing funding and nonfinancial support from a variety of sources, such as government grants, foundations, individual giving campaigns, and special events. It also provides tips for organizing a planning team and mapping available resources, as well as a number of worksheets and planning tools that can help programs manage the often-complicated logistics of pursuing multiple funding streams. The appendices also provide advice on how to effectively involve a Board of Directors or Advisory Committee in resource development and references to additional reading and resources on program sustainability.

Play Well With Others: Leveraging Local Partnerships for Program Success (Case Study)
This case study examines how the Sonoma Valley Mentoring Alliance program in California leverages partnerships to provide financial and other support for their services. Tips on forming and maintaining partnerships are included.

Why Don’t We Like To Change? Helping Organizations Chart a New Course for Future Success (Case Study)
This case study examines how a local mentoring program overcame leadership challenges and other barriers to success, illustrating why organizations can be resistant to change and how local mentoring programs can ensure that they do not become stagnant and ineffective in a constantly shifting landscape.

Making a Difference on a Shoestring Budget: Evergreen School Lunch Buddies Program (Case Study)
This case study explores the creative ways that one program in Washington state is diversifying their funding and building on program success.

Audio presentation - Microsustainability: Strategies for Finding and Building Local Support for Your Program (mp3 recording) (42MB)
The teleconference training approaches sustainability from a fresh perspective, exploring the small, grassroots, and local forms of support that your mentoring program can tap into. This event will teach participants about "hidden" dollars and often overlooked strategies that you can implement in any community. Special emphasis is placed on programs in rural settings.

• Additional download: Strategies for Finding and Building Local Support for Your Program Guidebook (transcript of presentation, plus slides and additional reading

Resources from Other Organizations

These resources, developed by other youth mentoring organizations, provide additional information about fundraising and program sustainability. All links will open in a new window.

Finance Project's Youth Programs Resource Center
Specific resources of interest from the Finance Project include:

• Finding Resources to Support Mentoring Programs and Services for Youth
• A Guide to Successful Public-Private Partnerships for Youth Programs

Foundation Center Website

Free Nonprofit Management Library Resources
Valuable resources on this comprehensive website include:

• Fundraising and Grantwriting
• Capacity Building
• Strategic Planning

The Grantsmanship Center
This site features two outstanding resources that can help programs zero in on state and local funding sources:

• Grant Resources by State - A guide to foundations, grants, and corporate giving by state.
• Community Foundations by State - These organizations pool foundation dollars and make them available at the local level.

Grants.gov & The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Websites

School Grants Website

Show Us the Money! Fundraising for Mentoring Programs (published by EMT Group)

Sustaining Program Viability (published by EMT)

Sustaining Grassroots Community-Based Programs: A Toolkit for Community- and Faith-Based Service Providers (published by SAMHSA)

The Ten Most Important Things You Can Know About Fundraising (published by The Grassroots Fundraising Journal)